Camber adjustment devices for adjusting the camber of wheels when periodically aligning the front-end of a vehicle are well known. Such prior art devices are able to adjust the amount of tilt for the front wheels from the top to the bottom. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,537,685; 3,811,654; 3,840,211; 3,915,431; and 4,303,224. While these U.S. Patents disclose various devices for adjusting camber and caster during front-end alignment of vehicles, none of them specifically relate to the adjusting of the front-end camber for a front-wheel drive vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,431 discloses a camber adjusting device having an elongated contact member for contacting the upper inner arm or shaft of a vehicle wheel assembly. In this instance, the inner arm is disposed horizontally within the wheel assembly and the fulcrum member must extend at an obtuse angle from the contact member and rest upon a fulcrum point of the vehicle during use of the camber adjusting device. An elongated handle extends from the fulcrum member at the end remote the contact member.
The fulcrum means of U.S. Pat. No. '431 includes a curved lower surface for placement on a fulcrum point of the vehicle. A heel member includes the curved lower surface and extends outwardly from and along the fulcrum rod on the opposite side of the rod relative the contact member. The heel member constitutes a portion of the fulcrum member that extends outwardly and past the elongated contact member adjacent the fulcrum member. The shape and specific placement of the fulcrum member and the configuration of the contact member precludes use of this prior art device in adjusting the vertically disposed, spring-loaded strut portion of a McPherson wheel suspension assembly as found on General Motors cars since 1982 to the present models.
None of the other camber adjustment devices as found in the prior art are suitable for adjusting the camber of a vertically disposed, spring-loaded strut portion found in a McPherson front-end wheel suspension assembly.
In the McPherson suspension system used on front-wheel drive General Motors automobiles, a strut bracket, located at the bottom end of a vertically disposed strut member, includes elongated holes. Two bolts connect the bracket to a spindle or knuckle link secured to the wheel designed to tilt at a particular camber angle from top to bottom of the front wheel with respect to the vertical. Once the bolts are loosened, the manufacturer's manual suggests the manual grabbing of the vertically disposed spring-loaded strut portion and causing it to move. Thus, the wheel camber is supposed to be adjusted manually moving the vertical disposition of the spring-loaded strut portion.
However, if the vehicle use has been abusive and corrosive, such as use in snow and salt, it may be very difficult and time consuming to move the strut portion after the bolts are loosened. It sometimes requires loosening to a point where the wheel will tend to flop around in the hands. Then, the wheel must be held in position while tightening the two bolts at the final adjustment of the front-end. This is a time consuming operation and can become quite frustrating.
The manual adjustment of the front-wheel, once loosened, is accomplished by jacking the car up, loosening the bolts to where the tire can be grasped and moved around. Such an operation cannot be done while the vehicle sits on the ground with its weight on the tires. That is, the strut assembly cannot be manually moved to effect the camber adjustment while the car is sitting on the ground.
Once the strut assembly adjustment bolts are loosened to adjust the camber, the weight of the vehicle naturally causes pressure tending to push the bottom of the vertically disposed strut portion inwardly toward the partition or fender apron disposed between the wheel assembly and the vehicle engine compartment. At the same time, to monitor the camber adjustment for the front-wheels, a wheel gage is mounted on the tire. Thus, when the weight of the wheel is sitting on the ground and the bolts are loosened, it is possible the inwardly directed pressure will cause the tire to flop inside and the wheel gage mounted on the tire could be knocked off and ruined.